Indian doubles star Rohan Bopanna, 40, was desperate for a partner at the Indian Wells Masters last year, and when he saw that Denis Shapovalov was available to play, he hit him up. Bopanna, a 19-time doubles champion, was positively surprised by the quick response from rising Canadian star Shapovalov, who accepted to play.

Since then, Bopanna and 21-year-old Shapovalov have played together at 14 more events. Shapovalov, who is enjoying a career-high ranking of No. 10, is focused on his singled career but he occasionally plays doubles with Bopanna since the two have a good connection.

“My partnership with Denis is truly unique, given he is almost 20 years younger than me(laughs),” Bopanna told the Indian Tennis Daily. “It all started at Indian Wells last year when I was looking for a partner and you need to combine rankings to get into the doubles draw.

All the doubles specialists already had partners so I was checking on as to which singles players I can play with. I saw Denis’ name and decided to send him a text. And Indian Wells is an event where all singles players end up playing doubles as well.

So it was nice of him to say yes. Right away, from the first match, we enjoyed the camaraderie between us. “I think I bring in special experience into the doubles format. And his super-fast speed, power and flamboyance, helped my game tremendously as well.

So that combination worked for us. Slowly, we started committing to more events – be it 250, 500 or Grand Slams. Slowly, we started to enjoy each other’s company, and I got to know him a lot better. He’s a fantastic guy and he’s doing so much for tennis.

It has transformed into an honest friendship and as long as we enjoy playing together, that is what gives us success at the end of the day.

source: http://www.tennisworld.org / Tennis World / Home> Tennis News> Tennis Interviews / by Dzevad Mesic / September 29th, 2020